Nokia unveils $250 N1 quad-core tablet running Android 5.0

Microsoft may have just finished scrubbing the Nokia name off its Lumia phones, but there’s already a new Nokia device you can buy: the Nokia N1 tablet. Nokia has done a bit of scrubbing, too. You won’t find Windows on this tablet.

The Nokia N1 comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop installed, though they’ve replaced one key component of the Google experience. Instead of the Google Now launcher, you’ll find Z Launcher handling your homescreen activities. Nokia has been letting people test the intuitive, gesture-driven launcher for a while now, obviously prepping it for the N1’s big debut.

The N1 bears more than a passing resemblance to the iPad mini, especially from the bottom where its reversible USB Type-C connector is flanked by perforations in its aluminum chassis for a pair of stereo speakers. It’s also got a 7.9-inch, 2048 x 1536 resolution display like the iPad mini and comes in silver and space gray — which Nokia calls natural aluminum and lava gray.

That’s where the similarities end. The N1 features higher-resolution cameras: an 8MP shooter on the back and a 5MP one on the front. It’s slightly lighter and thinner than the iPad mini, but it also sports a smaller battery — 18.5 Wh compared to the iPad’s 23.8Wh. Though the battery has been shaved down, the aluminum chassis has not. Instead of a sharp, chamfered edge, the N1 is smoothly rounded from front to back.

And although Nokia has long been a fan of Qualcomm processors, the N1 features an Intel Atom: the 64-bit quad-core Z3580 clocked at 2.3GHz. 2GB of RAM should provide plenty of headroom for Lollipop and your favorite apps, and the 32GB of built-in storage is pretty generous at the MSRP of $250 (the iPad mini 3 starts at $399 with just 16GB).

As for why the Nokia N1 looks so similar to the iPad mini? It’s made by the same company. Foxconn is responsible for engineering, manufacturing, shipping, selling, supporting, and providing warranty coverage for the N1. They licensed the branding from Nokia and borrowed Z Launcher, but this is a Foxconn tablet through and through.

If you’re wondering when you’ll get a chance to put your hands on one, the answer might be never. The Nokia N1 will go on sale early next year in China and Nokia’s press release “anticipates” later expansion to other markets. That’ll be up to Foxconn to sort out, however.